At Mainstay we sell to a very unique persona, and thus require a unique Account Executive profile; someone who is entrepreneurial, intellectually curious, and energetic. At the same time, they want to work here because they are both intrinsically motivated by our mission to help more students get to and through college, and extrinsically motivated by our compensation structure and desire to be the market leader in student engagement platforms.  

AEs will be working with university executives and school administrators who are desperate to improve their student outcomes and look to us for guidance and support. Our personas may be slightly tech anxious and need some coaching, encouragement and long term hand-holding to get a deal over the finish line. The longer sales cycle and bureaucratic challenges an AE may be faced with is balanced out by the big wins and the impact they know it will have on thousands of students and their schools. If you can navigate those scenarios and stay hungry, motivated, and driven then we definitely have the role for you!

As an AE you will be tasked with bringing our student engagement platform powered by behaviorally intelligent chatbots to your prospects and customers through the use of strategic planning and growth conversations, while owning that process within your territory and install base from prospecting to close.  

This is your chance to shape the direction of a promising company, enjoy autonomy, and be joyful. We’ll provide the environment for you to master your skills and find both personal and professional growth. Earnings are uncapped and clear; we are invested in promoting from within and providing the support and mentorship aimed at your long term success. We enjoy friendly competition as a sales team pushing each other to be our best selves in and out of the office. 

About Mainstay

We bring the power of artificial intelligence and machine learning to higher education through a communications platform that guides students to and through college. Our bots help students find the answers they need, wherever they are, whenever they need it--and offer colleges a way to scale one-on-one support to their entire student body.

At Mainstay, we are mission and revenue driven. You will be working in a cutting edge space on new and exciting problems, driving large scale social impact, helping solve unique scalability challenges and be part of an exciting stage of an AI high-growth company. Externally we’re committed to helping colleges operate more effectively and helping their students succeed on their respective paths. Internally we’re committed to growing our employees to be their best selves.

The Role

The Account Executive position is responsible for all aspects of both finding new higher education customers, as well as identifying and growing existing customers within your book of business. This requires a high level of independence, strategic thinking, and creative problem solving, especially with the emergence of new products and personas. In order to be successful, you will need to establish trusted relationships with your clients and listen deeply to understand their goals, gaps, and decision-making criteria via our established sales process. 

You will be supported by a BDR to provide you with some net new opportunities, but ultimately you own your own territory and are tasked with growing and expanding our footprint in the market and install base. Part of that also includes mastery of the product and strong executive presentation skills. 

At Mainstay we have a culture of honest and kind coaching and peer feedback, so a growth mindset is a must. You will be expected to raise your game every day and help your peers develop their skills in alignment with our strategic sales strategy and playbook. 

What You’ll Do

• Lead all efforts in your territory to target, map, and develop prospecting strategies to drive new business and install base (customer) opportunities 
• Execute on campaigns and apply positioning provided by sales leadership and marketing; continually provide feedback, brainstorm new strategies, and tweak messaging to help figure out what works best for current and upcoming campaigns
• Manage all deals in your territory from creation to close - ideally closing 7 deals a quarter and overachieving on monthly and quarterly targets
• Leverage all reporting and analytics available to you (HubSpot CRM, Gong, Canopy, etc. ) to hold yourself and your support team (BDR, Renewal Manager, Partner Success Manager) accountable to hitting your goals and generating consistent pipeline
• Work with your manager to identify skill gaps or areas of growth to lean into to keep improving and adapting with the company and our go to market strategy
• Report to the Director of Sales 

What You’ll Have

• Experience leading a consultative and challenger new and install base business sales process; have proven success in a complex and strategic closing role
• Experience using CRM tools to organize and forecast sales opportunities
• Experience executing on a strategic account plan and selling to existing customers
• Strong analytical skills to identify trends and patterns within your territory
• An approach to sales that is curious, consultative, willing to challenge and data driven
• Ability to effectively communicate with executive level prospects via email, video/phone conferences, and the occasional in person demonstration
• “No task is too small” attitude, with an eagerness to learn
• A positive and open approach to growth and learning
• Ability to be kind and joyful to both prospects and peers
• Know how to make the most of the day through excellent time management and organizational skills
• A strong desire to understand the “why” behind the “why”
• The ability to craft compelling stories which offer valuable and unique perspectives to your prospects
• A passion for helping higher education and excitement for our mission, combined with a strong motivation to over perform given our compensation structure